South Africans Erik van Rooyen and Garrick Higgo produced solid opening rounds at the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic on Thursday.
Van Rooyen’s five-under 66 at PGA National Resort in Florida included an eagle, six birdies and three bogies, while Higgo had four birdies in his bogey-free round of 67.
They are two and three shots behind the co-leaders, respectively, in the tournament which opens the pre-Masters Florida swing.
American Chad Ramey and South Korea’s Kim Seong-hyeon both shot bogey-free rounds of seven under-par.
Out early, Ramey took advantage of the benign conditions on a course where wind can sometimes wreak havoc.
The 31-year-old made a 27-foot birdie putt on the 1st and reached the turn at five under.
He added birdies on the par-five 10th and par-four 13th and just two of his 11 par putts were from outside of four feet.
“I got a good break this morning with there not being any wind. I fully expect the rest of the week the wind to blow,” Ramey said. “I’ve never been here and it not blow. But to take advantage of the calm conditions is definitely a plus.”
The Mississippi native is looking for his second win on the PGA Tour after his victory at Punta Cana in 2022.
“I started off pretty strong from the get-go, hit two solid shots on one,” he said. “Then the whole front side I was pretty solid through the bag. Hit it well, putted well, chipped in once. Very solid through the whole bag.”
Kim got off to a flying start with a birdie on the par-four 2nd and then an eagle on the par-five 3rd, where he chipped in from 75 feet.
He recovered from a wayward drive on the 18th to make birdie with a 14-foot putt and secure a share of the lead.
Cameron Young, Ryan Moore, Chesson Hadley, Austin Eckroat, Andrew Novak and David Skinns all shot 65 to sit a shot off the leading pair.
All but England’s Skinns were part of the earlier groups out on the pristine course.
“The greens are always running really nice. Fairways are always perfect around here,” said Novak.
“It’s just there’s no wind. That’s the biggest defence. There’s water around, but the water is really shown off because the wind causes some funny ones.
“I would say no wind here means you are going to see some of those lower scores, but it looks like tomorrow the course is going to figure that one out and it’s not going to be so easy,” he said.
World No 2 Rory McIlroy is playing the tournament, previously known as the Honda Classic, for the first time since 2018 and shot a four-under 67.
McIlroy bogeyed his penultimate hole, the 8th, missing a nine-foot putt for par. However, he was pleased with his driving over the round.
“Pretty solid,” he said. “Some good, some not so good. Really good off the tee. That’s been a really good thing. I led strokes gained off the tee at Riviera a couple weeks ago, drove it really well again today.
“But a little loose with the irons. Didn’t really hole much going out, but I holed a couple on the back nine.
“Overall, it’s a solid start – 67 around here is always a decent score. It was so benign today. You’re not going to get this course much easier.Probably could have been a couple of shots better, but overall still a decent start.”
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